


Red velvet

by MyLadyDay



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, First Meetings, M/M, Soldier Marco, baker thatch, soldier thatch, tattoo artist ace, the rating will change later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-02-22 18:17:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLadyDay/pseuds/MyLadyDay
Summary: The natural course of action would have been to actually go over and find out a name, because he'd come way too close to actually calling him Big Blond out loud and if he'd done that, Sabo would not let him forget it. Which wouldn't be so bad considering there was no way he'd actually be able to forget mortification like that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is directly related to this ShanksBenn ficlet I wrote before, which reveals a tiny bit of Marco's side of things :D  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/2183211/chapters/17699353
> 
> Beta'd by Aerle

Ace already knew their routine by heart, just from observing them for a couple of days. Big blond would come out of the bakery wearing a shirt too tight for him and too thin for the weather, holding a take out cup and a small box in his big hands. They looked really, pleasantly big from where Ace was standing, and he honestly wished he wasn't standing that far away.

Barely a minute later, silver fox from the flower shop walked by and big blond gave him the cup and the box as they exchanged a few words, after which silver fox would continue down the street to the flower shop that rested across the street from Ace's tattoo parlor. Big blond would then go back into the bakery and sometimes, Ace could hear the laughter from the buff baker all the way down the street while the door was open.

The bakery looked like a fun place to be and Ace was still working up the courage to actually go and see the place from the inside.

At least he knew he wasn't the only one enjoying the morning routine of watching those three, and he turned towards the bookshop next door just in time to see Izou's gaze following silver fox towards the flower shop doors. Izou averted his gaze and met Ace's eyes a moment later, only shrugging once Ace raised his eyebrow. They had been at this for a while now, and Ace was sure some of the other shop owners from the street were lurking around, watching the dreamy trio that showed up only recently.

Ace would, of course, never admit out loud that he called them the 'dreamy trio', but well, no one had to know. They were all pretty dreamy, after all, especially big blond with those arms of his. All three seemed to have really exceptional shoulders and arms, not that Ace noticed of course, but he had a soft spot for big blond.

The silver fox looked a bit too serious for him, and the baker was awfully interested in Izou whenever they were anywhere remotely close to each other. Big blond, though, looked interesting. Ace couldn't say what it was about him that was intriguing, because all three were intriguing in their own right, but Ace only felt the need to figure big blond out.

The natural course of action would have been to actually go over and find out a name, because he'd come way too close to actually calling him Big Blond out loud and if he'd done that, Sabo would not let him forget it. Which wouldn't be so bad considering there was no way he'd actually be able to forget mortification like that.

Somehow, admitting to his brother, even accidentally, that he had a thing for big beefy blond dudes was worse than being caught staring at said dude. He was aware that staring was bad and he was being creepy a bit, but he'd also seen Robin from the antique shop enjoy the view each morning while sipping on her tea so he felt a bit less bad.

The bell on his door chimed as it opened and Izou walked in, looking as if he had urgent business to attend to.

"I'm getting coffee," he said with impressive determination, almost like he was ready to march into battle and not walk up the street to the bakery.

"Okay," Ace said, trailing off a bit uncertainly, because he was fairly sure he knew where Izou was going with this, but didn't really want to admit it just yet.

"You're coming with me," Izou added with the same determination and Ace knew there was no backing out when Izou was like this.

"Can't I just watch from here and hope his shirt finally rips from the strain?" Ace asked, knowing he sounded really whiny, but couldn't really get himself to care at the moment. He was not above whining to get out of doing stuff he didn't wanna do.

"The view's gonna be better up close," Izou said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, tapping his foot impatiently. "Come on."

With that he was out the door and it was obvious Ace was meant to follow, so he did, after grabbing his jacket. It was too cold even for him, after all. The way up the street towards the bakery was filled with nerves, and Ace couldn't figure out why that was. Maybe because he'd kept staring at big blond and maybe, just a tiny bit, fantasized about things. There was a surprising amount of hand holding amongst those things.

He may have had a fixation on the guy's hands, but that was for Ace to know and hopefully no one else to ever find out.

It was a brave new concept, rushing up the street to catch up with Izou who looked like he was on a warpath, just to get some coffee in the new bakery. It wasn't really like Izou to be nervous about some guy, but Ace could tell his nerves were really going wild. Luckily, focusing on that was enough to distract Ace from his own nerves, and the fact he had no idea what he'd do when faced with big blond and his muscles up close. They were bound to look even more impressive within touching distance.

The bakery itself wasn't really open just yet, not to regular customers at least, but since day one it's been open early for other shop owners from the street. Ace was pretty sure he was the only one that hadn't gone at this point. Izou had gone before, and Ace was certain something happened there, but Izou never mentioned anything and Ace really didn't want to ask. Not when Izou looked the way he did before opening the bakery door.

Sometimes, Izou was really scary.

As soon as they walked in though, and the soothing smell of baked goods surrounded them, Izou seemed to melt.

"Izou!" a loud voice called from somewhere in the shop, and Izou visibly melted even more. "Good morning!"

It was actually impressive, that someone had such an effect on Izou. Ace never saw him that smitten before, and staring at Izou in awe was a good distraction from the fact that big blond was standing behind the counter, looking at them.

"'Morning, Thatch," Izou said with a smile, and Ace could almost feel his jaw drop.

Izou walked up to the side of the counter, where the beefy baker stood, and looked at Izou with undisguised affection. Ace was still absolutely stunned, walking to the counter as well with his eyes glued to the kind of unusual pair, and he failed to notice he was right in front of the big blond.

On the one hand, it was nice that he could walk into a room without staring at the guy like a total creep. On the other, hearing him speak that close almost gave Ace a heart attack.

"I take it he's not always this smitten," he said, startling Ace into turning his head and finally looking away from Izou.

"What?" he stammered, immediately embarrassed about pretty much everything ever.

Big blond just smiled at him, and Ace's knees almost gave out. He was sure he looked just as smitten as Izou.

"You looked pretty shocked," he said, tilting his head towards Izou and the baker, "and I haven't seen you here so far, so you couldn't have really seen the whole," he paused for a moment, probably looking for a word to describe the two, before settling on, "whatever that is."

"Uh, no," Ace said, feeling like his face was about to catch fire. "Usually he's not really the heart eyes kind of guy."

"Could have fooled me," he said with a grin, looking more amused than anything.

And Izou had been absolutely right, the muscles were almost too hard to look at this close because that shirt looked like it was seconds away from ripping open from the strain.

"I'm Marco, by the way," he said, holding out his hand. "You're the tattoo artist, right?"

"Yep, that's me," Ace replied, finally smiling back, feeling himself relax as they touched on some familiar ground. He could always talk about his work.

And then his brain almost broke a moment later, when he let go of Marco's (amazing, warm, big) hand, and Marco promptly crossed his arms and propped them on the counter. The muscles just...popped.

"I always loved tattoos," Marco said, and Ace almost replied with something stupid. "Didn't have the chance to get one from a real tattoo artist yet though."

That brought Ace back to the present, and ripped his eyes from the arms. He really needed to work on his self control. But Marco was talking again before Ace could voice just how bad it was, getting tattoos from anyone but professionals.

"You want to lecture me on the importance of getting tattooed only by professionals, don't you?" Marco asked with amusement, and Ace couldn't help but huff out a laugh.

"Maybe," he replied, more relaxed now that he was getting used to actually talking to Marco instead of observing from afar. "But only because it's important."

"I know, I know," Marco said with a laugh, "but unfortunately the army didn't really have a lot of professional artists. So what can I get you? I assume you didn't come here just to watch those two flirt," he added, turning a little to look at Izou and his baker with a smile, before standing up straight.

"I came here because Izou wanted to get coffee," Ace said, looking at the two as well. "Didn't think this was what he meant," he added with a laugh. "I'll have a coffee, and whichever cupcake you recommend. I don't think I can pick one, they all look good."

Marco was already making his coffee, and giving Ace a really good view of his back. Ace did his best to look anywhere but at Marco, because drooling would definitely be creepy and more than a little embarrassing. It didn't matter that Ace would be the only one to know, since Izou and the baker weren't paying attention to anyone but each other, while Marco's back remained turned towards Ace.

"Go sit down, if you're not in a hurry," Marco said, glancing over his shoulder. "I'll bring this to you in a sec."

"Sure," Ace said, saying as little as possible to avoid revealing how affected he sounded, before making his way to a table as far from Izou and his flirting as possible. He felt like he would be intruding, if he could hear what they were saying. Even if the looks on their faces, and the distance between them said enough.

He sat down by the window, where he had a good view of the street outside. Ace always loved the way it looked, when autumn rolled around and the fog clung to the city this early in the morning. No one really stayed outside at this time of day, and Ace absolutely loved how peaceful everything looked, when observed from the warmth of a bakery. It really smelled amazing in there.

Marco startled him once again, when he set two mugs and a small plate on the table, before taking a seat opposite Ace.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you," Marco said. "They can be a bit much sometimes," he added, nodding his head towards where Izou still flirted.

"How often do they do this?" Ace asked, stirring his coffee just to keep his hands busy. He was sure they were kind of sweatier than normal, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Pretty much every morning, I guess," Marco replied, taking a sip of his own coffee. "I don't think Izou's come here by himself yet, though."

"And you have to suffer through it every time?" Ace asked with a grin.

"As nice as it is to see Thatch happy, they are really disgustingly sappy," Marco said, with the sigh of a man who's heard too much. "And I still haven't heard any mention of a date."

"Do you eavesdrop on them a lot?"

Marco snorted, but still smiled at Ace. "Kind of hard not to. But enough about the lovebirds, what brings you here? Can't have been just 'cause Izou wanted coffee."

"Well," Ace started, taking a moment to think about an answer that didn't include Ace's curiosity about Marco's arms from up close, "Izou came by, said we're getting coffee and left the shop. So I followed, and that really is all there is to it," he finished with a shrug, then grabbed for the cupcake in front of him to occupy his mouth before he got the opportunity to blurt out something stupid.

Too bad it didn't help, because as soon as he bit into the cupcake, a moan that was no doubt too obscene left him. Ace froze as soon as it happened, and staring wide eyed at Marco revealed that he was frozen as well. Marco's face became a tiny bit pink, only noticeable if Ace tried hard to look for it, but he was sure his own face was on fire.

"Glad to hear you love my baking!" Thatch shouted from the other side of the bakery, breaking the awkward silence between them, and finally dragging Ace's attention away from Marco's face. Izou looked mildly amused, which surely drained all color from Ace's face because that look meant he wouldn't be hearing the end of this for a long while.

"Great, now he's gonna be all smug about it," Marco said with an exasperated sigh, successfully draining the tension from Ace's shoulders.

"I'm already smug!" Thatch shouted again, still grinning as he looked away from Ace and back to Izou.

"Well, he's got me there," Marco shrugged then took a sip of his coffee, but Ace could see the corners of his mouth go up before the mug got in the way. There was no hiding the affection.

Not that it looked like Marco was trying.

"So what brings you here?" Ace asked, trying to change the subject and maybe find something out about Marco.

Marco looked at Ace, the hand holding his mug freezing halfway between his mouth and the table.

"I work here," he said in a way that suggested Ace was an idiot, except for the way his lips quirked.

"You know that's not what I meant," Ace laughed a bit, ready to explain even though he was sure Marco understood perfectly, but the ringing of his phone interrupted him before he could continue.

All too fast, he remembered he wasn't in the shop this early just to stalk to hot baker.

"Shit, I have to go," he said, quickly draining the coffee from his mug. "I'm supposed to meet the delivery guy. I'm so sorry, how much do I owe you for the coffee?"

He looked up, only to find Marco had already gotten up and moved behind the counter.

"It's on the house," he said, "since it's your first time here. Let me give you a box for that cupcake, I'm not letting you waste it."

"Thanks," Ace said, unable to stop the smile, giddy when he got one in reply.

It was unnatural, how smitten he was by Marco, even more so now that they actually met. He was barely out the door, leaving Izou behind, and already thinking about the next time he could afford to stop by.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Autumn was a time of consultations mostly, people walking into the parlor to talk about ideas and budgets, working on sketches for tattoos that Ace wouldn't be working on until some later time when it was warmer outside. It didn't matter how often he explained that summer is the worst time to get a tattoo because of all the sweating and sunlight, his customers rarely took his advice.

He supposed in the end it wasn't his decision to make, but he couldn't help but worry when people chose to ignore his opinion on some aspects of this. Usually, everything was fine. Ace did his job well, but he wasn't a doting mother and it wasn't his job to babysit the people who chose to come to him for ink.

So every autumn, when the weather was foggier every day, and the sky was grey enough to make it seem like it wasn't even daylight, Ace was hunched over his desk in the parlor, working on commissions and sketches. Walk-ins were pretty common, and made up most of his business in the colder months. After all, there were still people who know what they were doing when it came to tattoos.

He only wished more of them would be like this.

There were days when Ace disliked working with first timers, especially ones who had no idea about tattoos other than how cool they looked. Other days, he worked with people who came to him with a story and an idea which started a journey they went on together.

The bell above the door chimed, and Ace snapped out of his thoughts, realizing he'd zoned out and started chewing on his pencil the moment he got stuck with a part of the drawing. Disgusting habit he couldn't get rid of since high school.

"Good afternoon," he said, looking up from the paper on his desk and nearly choking on the pencil between his teeth, tasting wood and lead in his mouth.

"Hey," Marco said from the door, looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

Ace was suddenly very aware of the graphite smudges all over his hands and the fucking pencil still in his mouth and the fact he'd been fiddling with his hair in frustration as he worked. The urge to turn around and check himself out in the mirror was overwhelming, but he was sure he'd rather not know just how bad this look was on him.

"Uh, hey," Ace said kind of dubiously, then almost hit himself. He settled for clearing his throat instead, pretending he was more put together than he actually was because he looked like a hobo on crack and Marco looked… well, delicious. His arms were as amazing as ever, and Ace really wanted to touch them.

A moment later, he really wanted to not be a total creep.

"What brings you here?" he asked, going for friendly and not creepy.

Marco walked closer to Ace's desk, hands hidden behind his back, making the sheer size of his shoulders even more prominent, and Ace really wanted that to stop, thank you very much.

"The whole street is kinda slow today, so I figured you'd have some time to sit down with me and talk about that amateur tattoo I have," Marco said with a smile before placing a small orange box and two takeout cups on Ace's desk.

"I even brought a bribe," he said, the smile turning into a frankly totally endearing grin.

"And," he added pointedly, "I will let you lecture me on getting tattoos done by amateurs after I tell you how I got mine."

Ace couldn't help but laugh, the tension eased when Marco talked like that after bringing him food and coffee. It didn't take much to show him Marco was an actually nice guy beneath all those muscles. Not just a nice guy, but someone Ace had enjoyed talking to and he'd be damned if he lets his silly crush stop him from making the most of Marco's company.

"I will take your bribe," Ace said, reaching out for one of the cups, "and I'll think about the lecture. Please, sit down," he said, nodding to the chair on the other side of his desk.

This was easy _—_ talking about work and art was a cakewalk no matter who he was talking to and how flustered he'd normally get.

"Tell me about the infamous tattoo," Ace said before taking a sip of his coffee, amazed at how much better it was compared to what his small coffee maker in the back made.

"I think I need to explain, before I show it to you," Marco said, and for the first time he looked almost embarrassed.

"Well, there isn't that much to explain actually," he continued a moment later. "We were still deployed overseas, got drunk during some down time and one of the guys in our unit said he has a tattoo gun."

Ace snorted at that, getting an amused scoff from Marco, before he spoke again.

"Anyway, Thatch got a hold it somehow and we decided he could tattoo me." Marco didn't sound happy about that part. "One thing to know about Thatch is that his artistic talent extends only to decorations you can make on cake, so what I've been stuck with for the last four years is pretty bad."

"Sounds like it," Ace said, sipping his coffee and enjoying the way Marco's cheeks went a bit pink. "Do I get to see this masterpiece?"

Marco laughed a little at that.

"Do you want to see it first or talk ideas about how to cover it up?" Marco asked, sounding genuinely curious and not like he was just trying to avoid showing whatever it was Thatch tattooed on him.

"What the current tattoo looks like is gonna have an effect on what we try to do to cover it up," Ace said, putting the amusement behind while they talked about the actual tattoos. This was something he was going to ink into Marco's skin and that warranted some seriousness.

"So it's better if I see what we're working with before you tell me what you'd like to have tattooed over it," he continued. "That way I can keep any possible adjustments in mind."

The way Marco was looking at him was a bit dazed, but Ace ignored it for a moment.

"Makes sense," Marco said, snapping out of it and focusing his gaze on Ace's eyes. He smiled for good measure too.

"Okay, remember that I was drunk off my ass and don't judge," he added.

And then he pulled his fucking shirt off, right there in the middle of Ace's parlor like it was no big deal and like he hasn't almost caused Ace a fucking heart attack. It turned out the arms were way more impressive when Marco was shirtless, but it was very difficult focusing just on them since everything else was on display too. It was just a whole lot of everything, mostly bulging muscles and light blond hair covering Marco's chest and honestly Ace wasn't sure what to do with all this information.

He pointedly ignored the scars, the various lines and pink puckered skin that looked like it was  once a gunshot wound. Looking at them felt like intruding.

Then he pulled himself together, after what felt like an eternity, because he wasn't about to stare and make Marco uncomfortable. He figured he deserved some slack for looking at first because he was caught off guard with the sudden stripping, because of course he forgot to ask where the tattoo was, but that was it. Just a shock.

When he kind of awkwardly stopped staring, Ace put down his cup on the desk and stood from his chair to take a look at the tattoo.

"I'm assuming that's not the one?" Ace asked, pointing to the neat tattoo in the middle of Marco's chest, nestled between his pecs which he was trying very hard not to think about.

"No, this one's good," Marco replied, glancing down to look at the tattoo and Ace could tell it was important to him. "This one's the problem though," he said, tilting his head to the right and drawing Ace's attention to his (big buff) shoulder.

"Fuckin' hell," Ace said as soon as he saw the absolutely horrible rendition of a sexy retro pin-up lady.

It wasn't the worst tattoo he'd seen ever, given that he'd covered up some pretty horrible works so far, but it was the worst thing he was faced with in a while.

"I think that's exactly what I said when I woke up the next morning," Marco said, sounding more amused than he had a moment ago. "I think I got sick after that, and then I realized the tattoo was probably infected."

Ace didn't know what to say so he settled for a grimace.

"How's that lecture coming along?" Marco asked after a moment of silence, grinning up at Ace like he was hoping for an actual lecture.

"I think I want to go over and throw something at Thatch, honestly," Ace said with a snort.

"As long as you don't hurt his hands," Marco said with a shrug and a smile. "He needs those for baking."

"Can't you take over?" Ace asked before turning his attention back to the tattoo, crouching down to get a closer look.

"Nah," Marco replied, "I can't bake to save my life. Thatch is the mastermind behind the food. I just make the coffee."

"Well okay, I guess I can avoid the hands then," Ace replied, casting a brief glance up at Marco. "Should probably avoid the face too or Izou might kill me."

Marco laughed out loud at that, somehow still managing to stay still while Ace looked at his shoulder. It was easy to forget how potentially awkward the whole atmosphere was.

"So did you have something specific in mind?" Ace asked. "The colors look pretty faded and it should be easy to cover it up with anything but white ink."

He looked up from the tattoo for a moment, meeting Marco's eyes. The silence around them was surprisingly comfortable.

"I actually didn't think that far ahead honestly," Marco replied after some consideration. "All I know is that I want that thing gone."

Ace stood then, walking over to the other side of his desk and Marco took that as a sign to put his shirt on. Whether Ace was relieved by it or not, he couldn't tell just yet.

"Can you design something?" Marco asked, once the shirt was over his head and he was stuffing his ridiculous biceps back into those poor tiny sleeves.

"Are you sure you want to put a tattoo choice into someone else's hands?" Ace asked, pointedly looking at Marco's right shoulder. "You know, given how well it went last time."

Marco gave him a withering look, eyebrow raised as if challenging Ace to sass him some more.

"I'm sober now, for one," Marco told him with a scoff. "And you're a professional. Even if you didn't lecture me."

There was that teasing tone again, and an obvious invite for Ace to rant about art and tattoos and proper care. Something he actually didn't do in a while because people weren't prone to listening and he wasn't a fan of wasting his time like that.

But he had a feeling Marco would actually listen, even if he wasn't about to go off and get tattooed by an amateur without proper gear anytime soon.

"As tempting as that is, we should probably talk about covering that horror up," Ace said, nodding vaguely towards Marco's shoulder. "And then maybe if we have time later, I can think of a lecture real quick."

"I guess I should get used to you never letting this go, huh?" Marco asked, not looking the least bit annoyed by that prospect, even if his words sounded like it.

"Maybe," Ace said with a grin. "Maybe not. Who knows?"

Marco just shook his head, but he smiled the entire time, assuring Ace that no lines were crossed. He was grateful for it, really, since he sometimes had a hard time figuring out if his teasing was taken the wrong way.

"But tell me anything that you'd maybe like to have in a tattoo," he said after a while, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere in the parlor. He was honestly surprised no one interrupted them yet.

"I like birds and flowers," Marco said with a thoughtful frown. "And my favorite color is blue."

He paused for a moment, staring off at the wall somewhere above Ace's head. "This is too much pressure, I can't think of anything. I'm doubting my entire existence right now."

Ace had to laugh a little at that, as he was grabbing a new piece of paper and a softer sketching pencil to start on something.

"I can work with this for an initial idea, I think," Ace said, glancing up at Marco. "If you don't mind waiting a bit."

"Ooooh, I get to watch you work?" Marco asked, leaning forward with a noticeable glee on his face.

"Don't get too excited," Ace told him with a laugh, but didn't look up from the paper as he started sketching. "This is just a rough idea to see if we can find something to work with."

Marco said nothing, but Ace could hear that he was drinking his coffee in silence, presumably paying attention to what Ace was drawing. Ace zoned out a little, trying to work out the idea he had in mind based on what Marco had said. Without the colors though, because he wasn't sure he had time for that too. He didn't want to ignore Marco for that long.

When he looked up, Marco was staring at him with rapt attention, visibly snapping out of it just as Ace was.

"Okay, remember it's a rough idea that can be worked on," Ace said as he turned the paper around and showed Marco the outline.

"It's got birds and flowers," Ace said with a laugh. "Didn't have any blue though."

Marco let out a startled laugh as he took the drawing in with obvious shock. Ace was kind of used to that reaction, having given up on explaining that he had so many years of practice that working out sketches took no time at all.

"This is perfect," Marco said, looking like it was difficult to find the right words.

"Could definitely use some blue though," he added as he looked up at Ace with a smile. "Damn, I wish I brought more than a piece of red velvet cake. Definitely doesn't feel like enough."

"Red velvet is my favorite," Ace told him. "But if you don't think it's enough, you can definitely come by tomorrow and bring more," he said, feeling kind of brave all of a sudden.

"It's a date," Marco said cheerfully, and Ace wasn't sure if he meant it as a _date_ date or not, but he wasn't about to question it. Hanging out with Marco was a good idea either way.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm kinda repeating myself when i say i'm not dead since i'm aware i don't post very often due to school and work. well now i have a plan and it includes finishing this story up as soon as possible, working on my marcoace bb story and then finishing up my other ongoings as soon as possible as well. 
> 
> i haven't been replying to all comments i get, but please know i love and appreciate all of you that take the time to comment on my work <3

There were many things Ace loved about Izou, but his favorite had to be the way Izou was just _unexpected_. He had to be the biggest book nerd Ace ever met, he lived off of coffee and spite, and he had a strong preference for pastel colored soft sweaters. Paired with his thick-rimmed reading glasses, the sweaters really made him seem soft and approachable. He looked like a good boy you'd bring home to meet the parents.

And then there were the two dozen separate tattoos he had hidden under all those sweaters.

No one ever expected the tattoos, Ace knew it because he hadn't expected any of them the first time Izou came into the shop for a consultation. Ace himself was responsible for around eight of them, but the entire collection was a huge gallery of good taste and even better art. Izou had to be the best customer Ace ever had.

And yet...

"I'm not going to tattoo a croissant on your neck," Ace said, focus entirely on the still healing tattoo on Izou's upper back.

"Would a cupcake be better?" Izou asked, though at this point Ace could tell he was joking. Maybe.

"I'm not tattooing any baked goods on you," Ace replied.

Izou was a friend so he was definitely allowed to veto any potentially dumb tattoo ideas.

"You suck," Izou told him with a snort. "How else am I gonna tell Thatch I like his baking?"

Ace stopped cleaning the tattoo for a moment to lean over Izou's shoulder and look him in the eyes.

"Words," he said. "Use words, to his face, holy shit, man."

"I mean," Izou said, and Ace was reconsidering his previous assessment that Izou was joking. "Is that enough though?"

The bell above the shop door rang then, snapping Ace out of the long fucking rant he was already mentally preparing for Izou's obliviously smitten ass.

"I'll be with you in a second!" he shouted through the screen that separated the work area from his desk and the front of his shop, as he went back to cleaning out Izou's tattoo with the antiseptic spray.

"We're gonna talk about the fucking croissant later," Ace said, turning back to Izou. "The tattoo looks like it's healing well, I'm really glad I got that foil cause it'll definitely be healed faster than usual. You still need to use ointment on it daily. You know the drill."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," Izou said with a wave of his hand.

"You could ask Thatch to help you apply it too," Ace added, giggling to himself where Izou couldn't see him.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Izou said like Ace had revealed the meaning of life to him.

Of course, he wouldn't even let Ace tease him about his crush. Typical.

"Okay, you're done," Ace said as he finished up with wiping the tattoo and applying some ointment.

He was completely done with Izou's sass too, but that was implied as usual.

"You're going to want to let that set before putting your shirt on though," he added as he took the gloves off and balled them up to throw away. "Want me to leave this up?" he asked, pointing towards the screen that was offering them privacy.

"No need, I left my shirt on the couch in the front anyway," Izou said, hopping off the table as Ace drew the screen back with a shrug.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting," he said immediately while he put everything in place.

"It's no problem," Marco replied.

"Well, damn," he said barely a moment later just as Ace registered that Marco was back in the shop.

And Marco was staring at Izou's shirtless chest covered in several colorful tattoos. Ace guessed he hadn't noticed the arms yet on account of those being slightly lighter in hue. It was always a trip, watching people see Izou's art for the first time, and he couldn't help but grin.

"Why, thank you," Izou said from behind Ace, brimming with pride. He was like a big inked up peacock.

Marco seemed a bit flustered by the attention he was getting and Ace almost felt bad.

"If you come by often enough, you could look like that too," Ace said, making Marco look at him, mouth opening as if to say something.

"Takes more than that to look like _this_ ," Izou said with a wiggle of his eyebrow as he motioned to basically all of him.

Of course, Ace snorted at that and Marco only raised an eyebrow in an incredibly sarcastic (charming) way.

"You two are no fun," Izou said after another beat of silence. "I'm gonna leave now so you can get on with whatever you do when you're alone."

He passed by both of them, still shirtless and obviously ready to go out into the cold air like that. His shirt was on the couch by the door and he picked it up but didn't put it on as recommended.

"You'll let me all about it later," Izou added with a wink and then he was off, leaving the two of them in stunned silence with his dramatic exit.

"Well that sounded awfully suggestive," Marco said, gaze shifting from the door to Ace.

"Yup," Ace said, for lack of anything better to say. Sitting down and looking at the new offerings Marco brought this time seemed like a better idea.

"I feel like there's a story there," Marco said, joining Ace at his desk a moment later. "He doesn't say that to all your customers, right?"

Ace looked up then, almost bristling at the question about his professionalism, but he was well aware that Izou kind of screwed him there.

"Of course not," Ace said and the look Marco gave him was obviously supposed to prompt him to keep talking.

Instead, it made him flounder a bit because how does he say 'Izou's an asshole because he knows I have the hots for you and your arms' without sounding like a creep?

But Marco laughed then. "I'm just kidding, Thatch pulls that shit all the time too," he said, looking incredibly amused and maybe a bit proud of himself. "I guess they're a perfect match."

"You're an ass," Ace said, squinting at Marco, but he couldn't really be mad. "You better have something good for me today."

"I do," Marco said proudly. His smile was doing things to Ace and he was unsure how to deal with it. "I have a red velvet cupcake, a fudge brownie, and some apple pie because Thatch says you remind him of cinnamon."

Ace was sure the confusion was clear on his face and he didn't actually need to ask.

"Don't ask, can't explain," Marco replied readily. "I'm blueberries."

"I don't know," Ace said, thinking Marco's words over. "You strike me more like raspberries."

Marco laughed again and Ace was fucked beyond reason. It really wasn't fair that he looked like _that_ when he laughed.

"Please tell me that coffee's for me," Ace said once the laughter died down. "I'm not actually able to stomach the stuff that comes out of my coffee maker anymore."

And there he went again, snorting a brief laugh and charming Ace more than should have been possible.

"All yours," Marco said, handing the cup over. "I could do with less caffeine."

"That's just crazy talk," Ace told him before gulping down as much coffee as possible without burning his tongue. There must have been an aura of a severe caffeine addict about him, but Marco only scoffed and said nothing on the matter.

"But I will let that slide because I have something for you too," Ace continued once the cup was back on his desk.

He'd liked the concept he'd sketched for Marco the day before, enough to actually clean up the sketch and put color on it, something he'd rarely done since he'd transferred all his art into digital form. And he really wanted Marco to like it too. He'd even went so far as to find his watercolors to make the drawing as gorgeous as possible.

Watercolors were a pain in the ass and he felt abnormally self-conscious for going to such lengths for this particular concept.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," Marco said, all the while leaning forward like an excited child waiting to open a Christmas present.

"I finished the sketch from yesterday," Ace said as he opened his folder and leafed through several sketches he tried out since yesterday.

He didn't really hate any, but this one particular combination appealed to him the most.

"I have some others with different birds and flowers, but this one was my personal favorite," he added, kind of feeling awkward about showing the finished product to Marco, but doing it anyway because this was his work and the one thing he would forever be proud of was his work.

His eyes went to Marco's face immediately, eager to see every moment of his reaction.

"Wow," Marco said, but his face betrayed very little. His poker face must have been immaculate.

Marco continued staring at the drawing, eyes going over every detail, and Ace was already itching for something, anything, that would let him know Marco likes it.

He wasn't ready for Marco's attention to shift from the paper to his face, even if he was kind of waiting for it. His gaze was far too intense and Ace felt hot all of a sudden.

"This is amazing, Ace," Marco said and god, his voice was almost too much. Pretty much like the rest of him.

Ace wasn't expecting to learn he had a bit of a praise kink apparently.

"Tell me about it," he added, glancing down and allowing Ace to breathe cause holy shit he was on fire. "I like birds and flowers, but I don't know shit about them," he explained with a laugh.

Ace laughed as well and it almost felt normal, and not like he was having very intimate realizations about himself because a cute guy complimented his art.

"I'm going to have to disappoint you because I know very little about either," Ace said, leaning forward so he could glance at the drawing in Marco's hands. "That's a Blue Jay and I mostly picked it because I like the way they look."

"It's also blue and that was one of my criteria," Marco added with a soft laugh. Their eyes met over the sketch in what could be called a complete cliche rom-com moment, and Ace nearly laughed out loud.

"There is that too, yeah," he said, before drawing Marco's attention back to the drawing.

Work first, he reminded himself, and then maybe flirting later.

"The color is mostly why I picked the flowers too," Ace continued, pointing down at the flowers surrounding the lone birds. "The lilies are mostly just a light backdrop to make the irises and forget-me-nots pop out a bit."

"Do they have a meaning?" Marco asked without looking up this time. "The flowers I mean. Thatch was telling me something about flower meanings, but all that kind of goes over my head."

"Probably," Ace said with a shrug. "Will you think less of me as an artist if I say I know jack shit about flower meaning?"

Marco laughed at that, and it honestly felt good, being able to make him laugh so easily.

"Of course," he said. "I can't have a tattoo unless you write a four-page essay on what every flower means. You'll have to sign it too and maybe laminate it so I can carry it with me in case people ask what my tattoo means."

He was so fucking snarky and Ace couldn't believe how hot that was. This felt like a day of endless discoveries and he wasn't sure what to think of that. Instead of diving too deep into that, Ace simply took another sip of his coffee and focused back on the task at hand.

"If that doesn't look completely right, I can show you the others," he said instead of continuing the banter that was kind of looking like flirting to him at this point.

As much as he'd love to flirt with Marco (at some point in the future), he wanted to get the tattoo out of the way first.

"No," Marco said, focus on the drawing again, "this is perfect. It's much better than the non-existent idea I came here with yesterday."

"I'm glad you like it," Ace said with complete honesty.

Nothing compared to the feeling of accomplishment when people liked the art he made for them. To create a tattoo that fit a person and made them happy was a difficult task, and Ace liked succeeding at it.

"Is the bottom going to cut off in a straight line like the drawing or do you have something else in mind?" Marco asked.

"I wouldn't want it to just cut off like that, but I left it like this for the concept art because we didn't talk how big you want the final tattoo to be," Ace replied before taking out some additional sketches out of his folder.

These were mostly unfinished and just ideas of flowers and different birds, but some of them had a more set idea about the entire shape.

"You can take a look at these for some of the options," Ace said as he lined up the sketches on the desk in front of Marco. "And we can see what fits when you decide how big you want the tattoo to be. The size is also going to be important for the level of detail that goes into the whole thing."

"I didn't really think of that," Marco said, finally setting the paper with the colored drawing down on the desk.

Ace didn't miss how careful he was with it.

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to have something so finished done this fast," he added, looking up at Ace in a way that Ace could only describe as bashful. "Do you mind if I think about it a bit?"

"Of course not," Ace said immediately. "Take all the time you need. This is for you, not for me, and I want you to be sure about everything before we start working on it."

The thought that he should have taken longer with the drawing so he could hang out with Marco more briefly crossed his mind before he banished it for the idiocy it was. This wasn't about him.

"Thanks," Marco said, and it really wasn't fair how handsome he looked when he smiled.

Just like before, the bell above the door rang and distracted them both. Maybe for the better, Ace thought, because he wasn't sure what he'd say if the silence settled around them.

"I should go," Marco said with a glance to the door. "Why don't you come by to the bakery one of these days? Thatch said he needs more guinea pigs for the new cookies."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ace said as he watched Marco get up from the chair and start for the door, nodding at the woman standing awkwardly next to the couch.

"I'll see you soon then," Marco said with a wave and the bell above the door rang again as he walked out into the street, disappearing from view all too soon.

It only took him a moment to gather all the sketches and put them away, knowing he'd have to go see Marco anyway to give him a copy of the concept art.


End file.
